Children love playing with toys. This book is about the "Tanin Karu," a spinning top made by children in Papua New Guinea.   

Tanin Karu - A Spinning top

Green polka dot pattern

Play with one or more players by timing how long it spins before it falls. The one with the longest timing in the spin wins. 

The force that spins the lime is called the centripetal force. This force makes the lime spin. The spinning is called circular motion.

Tanim Karu - A Spinning Top

Written, photographed, and video taken by: Venansius Maiggi Seisame Yogiyo Pauline Suvi

To make this toy, push the sharp part of the skewer into the bottom part of the lime. Get help from an adult to do this.

Image by mrninko from <a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/carousel-fun-children-colored-3721479/">pixabay.com</a>

A circular force is needed to spin the lime. This is created by the palms of your hands moving in opposite directions. 

Tanim Karu - A Spinning Top Written by Venansius Maiggi, Seisame Yogiyo and Pauline Suvi This book was written for the SEE Library (https://seelibrary.org/).

Engineers utilize the concept of circular motion to construct Ferris wheels and merry-go-rounds.

Image by Alexas_Fotos from <a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/ferris-wheel-fair-folk-festival-3354611/">pixabay.com</a>

Questions What other fruits can be used to make this toy? Can a carrot be used to make this toy?

This toy is made using lime and a skewer.

This toy, known as Tanim Karu in the Alekano dialect in Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea, is played with using an acorn seed. It is a favourite among children in Papua New Guinea and can also be played with using other oval-shaped nuts or fruits.

A short video on how to make a spinning top with lime.

You can use any fruit or nut to make a spinning top. The fruit must be oval-shaped with a pointy tip like the lime. This gives a good symmetrical shape for a spinning top.

Name

Safari may block some audio or video from playing automatically and ‘read to me’ will skip these. You can configure this in Safari’s preferences.